Pag* 4 Portland Obaarvar Auguat 8.1881
OBSERVATIONS
Fresh Turkey
FROM THE SIDELINES
By Kathryn Hall Bogle
Have you ever seen a box o f
" G o ld D u s t" washing powder? I
mean the one w ith the " tw in s ” on
the box. Have you ever seen a can o f
"N igger H a ir” tobacco? Or a plate
and cup and saucer th a t C oon
Chicken Inn used right here in Port
land?
W ell, you may see them o r buy
some o f them when these items go
on sale this week. This collection o f
nearly 2,000 items o f s im ila r
d escription w ill be o ffe re d to the
public through “ Buck” Foreman,
proprietor o f Buck’ s Stove Palace in
S.E. Portland.
This sale is a rare one. Rare
because many o f the items qualify as
antiques, though many are those
that fit more in to the category o f
collectibles. The “ N igger H a ir ”
tobacco can was sold in 1878 by the
American Tobacco Company.
The sale is rare also because how
often is it that you find a real collec
tio n o f articles that were made to
put down a race? These items were
once on the shelves, in the show
cases, in the store w indow s and
family homes o f America.
Some o f the items were made to
please the A m erican p u b lic by
foreign countries wanting to cater to
A m erican trade. L ik e the cheap
little ceramic outhouse occupied by
a rough looking person painted shoe
polish Black, “ made in Japan,” or
the th ic k lipped rin g -in -th e -n o se
“ galliw ay” made in France, or the
firecracker labeled "n ig g e r” made
in China to be shipped to American
fire w o rk s shops. Germ any made
some “ harmonizing” ceramic items
for kitchen use. They are all mixed
in together w ith the w aterm elon
eating, a llig a to r racing, bandana
kerchief melunge made in America
and available fo r purchase at the
Stove Palace.
A fascinating exhibit. It’ s authen
tic A m erican. It is a part o f
the history o f oppression o f Black
people. Who would buy it? Is there
a Black H istory project that could
afford it?
An “ Old Black Joe" shoe polish
can. E m p ty. A sm ooth head o f a
blackened male used as a target in a
carnival amusement game. A carved
’ 'B u c k ” F o re m a n p o s e s »with c o lle c tio n s d e m o n s tra tin g
A m erica's a ttitu d e to w a rd its Black citizens over the years.
(Photo: Richard J. Brow n)
head o f a Black man on a stick used
as a slave prod (" m o v e along
there” ), or a pointer for a huckster,
leans against a gum -ball machine.
This is another Black head w ith a
grotesque red tongue p ro tru d in g
from his mouth.
For a change there is a sterling
silver tea spoon with the outlines o f
three Black male faces in the design
o f the b o w l. Now th a t is a real
ra rity ! A nd here are some Lu cky
Light beer postures o f long ago with
attractive pictures o f the first Black
jockey who won the Kentucky Der
by back in 1884, again in 1890 and
again in 1891. Did you know about
him?
In a cabinet is a p in -u p poster
issued by the Carnation M ilk Com
pany show ing the likeness o f the
Tigner quadruplets when they were
beribboned and bonnetted babies
rig h t here in P ortland. T heir b irth
was a renowned event.
A set o f " M a m m y ” d o lls got
Foreman started collecting what he
calls " B la c k m e m o ra b ilia ” about
seven years ago, has built his exten
sive c o lle c tio n w ith the help o f
friends who combed through the o f
ferings o f casual collectors and flea
m arkets fro m coast to coast to
locate these items.
" N o w , ” Foreman said, " I s the
tim e to let go o f my c o lle c tio n . I
could travel w ith th is c o lle c tio n ,
write a book about it, or sell it o ff.
I ’ ve had a number o f persons who
are interested as buyer who have
contacted me since I placed ads in
the "T rade” magazines.
" I d e a lly , " Foreman though
aloud, “ the whole thing should be
A CM E BRA N D FA N C Y
YO U N G
young people how the Black circum
stances was used to the white advan
tage. M ost o f the things here lin k
Blacks w ith a lc o h o l, tobacco,
games, amusement o r menial ser
vice o f some k in d . T h a t was the
prevailing attitude o f the times.
"E v e n now I sense a stereotype
reaction sometimes from a prospec
tive customer who feels I must be a
bigot to have collected these
things.
" O n the other han d ,” Foreman
said w ith a sh o rt laugh, " I have
never met anyone, Black or white,
who could not identify with at least
one o f the item s - possibly
som ething fro m th e ir ch ild h o o d
memories stirs.”
Childhood memories do flood the
mind and Black children remember
the ca lculated h u m ilia tio n meted
out to them th ro u g h slanted and
derrogatory advertising on house
hold items o f yesteryear.
A u n t Jem im a lo o ks d iffe re n t
nowadays, so does the man on the
Cream o f W heat box, and C oon
Chicken Inn is now called the Prime
Rib. The put-down o f the Black race
has had to seek out o ther ways to
perpetuate itself.
The box o f licorice candies called
“ N igroids” has long ago been em
ptied but the tin and its label are in
good condition.
The
c o lle c tio n
of
these
m e m o p ra b ilia has its value as a
rem inder o f things past. Gone but
not fo rg o tte n . L ike the Jews who
suffered under H itle r in the horrors
o f the concentration camps in Ger
many, we cannot a ffo rd to forget
our own Black experience. Nor can
we let our young forget how it was
with us in America.
U S .D A . Grade A
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Boneless Steaks
TO P SIR LO IN
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BEEF C H U C K STEAKS Boneless
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U.S.DA Choice
$018
CRO SS R IB RO AST Boneless Beef
lb
CO RN ED BEEF BRISKET Boneless lb $ 1 88
Pierce's
SLIC E D BA CO N Old Faithful...
PO RK LIN K SAU SAGE Fresh - Regular lb $ 1 7 »
SM O KED SA U SA G E Kielbasa. or B e e f™ .lb *1**
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C H IC K E N FR A N KS GG
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B A LL P A R K FRAN KS (Beef
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SI 68) eo' 1-lb. I ea
O' Frost
SLIC E D M EATS 6 Land
Varieties............... 2'A-oz. 49c
ea
C O D Fresh
t ... lb S1” ISOLE Fresh Fillet...lb. $ 2 3 8
Black F
C llle
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1 s t 20th b D IVISIO N
1st 72nd b FLAVEL
| N t 15th Et FREMONT
Forest Grove 2329 PACIFIC
Oregon City 878 MOLALLA
Candy 1061 SW 1st
LLOYD CENTER
1 BURNSIDE at 21st
¡AN RAFAEL 1910 NE 122nd
14410 SE D IVISION
3965 SE POWELL
NE 74th b GLISAN
HILLSBORO 360SEO AK
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PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1
Louise A s h e r: Legal in v e s tig a to r
By Nathaniel Scott
Louise Asher has been an in
vestigator for the Public Defenders
Office in Multnomah County for 13
months, and while perform ing her
duties, fin d s tim e to re fle ct on
parenthood and parental in
volvement.
She said " f i f t y percent o f my
cases are Blacks and m in o ritie s --
indigent people, at or below the
poverty level. Most are females, in
cluding p ro stitu tio n , and the crime
rate for females is climbing. Why? I
cannot say. Perhaps a combination
o f things: education, economic and
cultural deprivation."
Asher, who was b orn in P o rt
la n d ’ s o ld V a n p o rt section, o b
tained her Associate o f Science
Degree in Law fro m P o rtla n d
C o m m u n ity C ollege, and The
mother o f four teenage children and
one eleven year old said, " I f the
parents would make an extra effort,
come down on the kids, especially
m inorities: let them know that we
don’ t appreciate their disrespectful
acts like unnecessary noise and
de stru ctio n on T ri-M e t buses;
discourtesy on the streets, etc., it
would help. We Blacks don’ t attend
meetings, watch special educational
programs on TV as a fa m ily u n it,
which also w ill help.”
As an in v e s tig a to r fo r the de
fender, Asher looks fo r flaws; find
people who are p e rtin e n t to the
case; take photographs and d ia
grams the crim e scene, and i f the
crime happens at night, “ very often
I have to go to the scene at night in
order to see it for myself,” she said.
"Females are reluctant to talk to
me especially because they fin d it
hard to see me as an investigator. Or
either because I am a wom an; a
Black woman.”
W hat are her feeling about
education? "T e n years ago I never
dreamed th a t I w ould have a
position like th is ,” she explained.
"S c h o o lin g is very im p o rta n t. I f a
person wants to do som ething,
he/she can.”
Asher’ s w orking day is not filled
w ith g litte r and g lam our as some
may th in k . Her o ve ra ll duties o f
field investigation, meeting with at
torneys, tria l assistance and making
court room appearances, gives her
ample background knowledge fo r
he, comment of, "overall, from the
Ready willing and very able...
to give highly skilled, professional insurance service in
your neighborhood.
She s an expert in planning all your insurance
life, home and business
auto,
And she may save you money, too.
Come in and meet her and take advantage of her broad
experience.
294 7997
From the Front Door
By Tom Boothe
From the front door, I wish to thank all of those who came forward over the
past month to help us clean our community; and also those who cleaned in
dependent of our help or encouragement. The Exodus Clean Team is fast
becoming a valuable positive Human Resource for the City of Portland and
Multnomah County. We know that our leadership is important, but we don't
forget that it is our youth that makes our service effective.
I was recently asked by a gentleman why did I get involved with something
like the Exodus Clean Team, when I could be doing something that is more
important than wasting my time trying to work with a bunch of kids on Satur
day morning, or holding meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
This gentleman is a highly religious person. However, I felt his statement was
motivated more from jealousy than religious conviction.
LOUISE ASH ER
(Photo by: Thom as G olden)
people I observe - fie ld investiga
tio n , courtroom s, etc., i t ’ s a sense
o f hopelessness; The uneducated
and poor tryin g to m aintain in the
system, ’ she explained.
" P r o s titu tio n figures in to my
area o f w o rk , p re d o m in a n tly the
U n io n Avenue s trip . 1 d o n ’ t p a r
tic u la rly lik e to investigate those
cases. There isn’t much work to do,
and usually the girls are gu ilty.”
Her observation o f prostitution is
the realistic one. The reason why is
varied and m any — a ll stem m ing
from lack. And she maintains that
the punishm ent should be equal
ju s tic e ; " p r o s titu te , custom er
(John) and pim p.”
-*"h e r's o u tlo o k fo r the im-
meu.ate future is to continue doing
what she is doing, but she does not
rule out the possibility o f "p riv a te
practice in four to five years; four or
fiv e years that prom ises to push
people in to the c rim in a l ju stice
system because o f lack.”
Black Studies
Rita H. Jenkins
3714 N Williams
Portland Or«oont7277'
mat giean
A u to • Firs • Lits • C om m arciai
iymbsl af iugaria* Service
(Continued from Page I Col 6)
" O u r international ranking w ill
be jeopardized and in te rn a tio n a l
program s • we have a F u llb rig h t
Scholar this year - might be discon
tin u e d ." L ittle explained that the
program is now considered one o f
the top ten in the nation.
I answred and asked, “ What else do you think would be more important?”
He answered and said, "W hy you could help me to organize a larger youth
membership for my church.” I answered and said, "You know children must
have a foundation of knowledge and understanding of reality before they can
become productive and responsible citizens in regards to any kind of mem
bership. I think my effort in trying to teach knowledge and understanding of
productivity and responsibility is far more important than trying to help you
fill your church with potentially non-responsible, irresponsible members.”
I concluded by saying that consistency, purpose and action is the inspiration
and driving Spirit of the Exodus Clean Team, and if he had a commitment
with that same spirit, then his church would have a solid youth membership.
I then gave him a copy of my "Final Wisdom” publication, and asked him to
read it and then come back and talk to me. He hasn’t come back yet.
My point in mentioning this conversation is to restate and have it understood
that I am only interested in doing what I can to help produce a cleaner and
safer community. I welcome those who wish to join me, and I don't under
stand those who like to live in dirt, and complain about it, yet, won't do any
thing to remove the dirt. Any one may be poor, but no one has to be dirty or
discourteous.
I must say at this point we will do what we can to clean our community, and
maintain a cleaner and safer neighborhood for all. Our strength is growing
each week.
*
Remember, the Exodus Clean Team is a non-sectarian community based
organization who will always appreciate your support, whether it be M A N
P O W E R , W O M A N P O W E R , C H IL D PO W ER or M O N E T A R Y
D O N A TIO N S ......